Tuesday, April 19, 2011

April Mother Daughter Book Club

Lucy Desberg is determined to help her mother and grandmother save their family pharmacy from bankruptcy. Burdened with bills they cannot pay, Lucy’s grandmother is convinced they will to sell all they have to make ends meet. But Lucy comes up with a plan to “diversify” business – add a day spa, incorporate “green” business practices, and apply for a city grant, in hopes of saving their livelihood.

By far, this was the WORST book club selection I’ve read. I hated this book from page one. So much so, I can’t even manage to rehash all that I thought that was wrong with this book, but for a brief outline here is what I had issues with:

However, the girls were extremely prepared for our discussion! This was a complete 180° from last month where they totally spaced it. They had some very thoughtful questions, like, “what would you do to help save a family business?” to “Would you be jealous if you best friend started dating sibling?” Of course, there were the throw away questions like, “what is your favorite lip gloss?” But we spent far more time discussing the book than last month. And I was the ONLY mom to finish this book…to confirm the poor quality of our reading choice (at least for the adults!).

I am excited for our May selection (and last for the school year!) – Lois Lowry’s The Birthday Ball. Our favorite book this year, as a whole, was The Willoughbysby Lois Lowry, so I look forward to reading more of her works.